The Seed Advantage SEIS Fund 1 has successfully funded Video Now (VN), a new TV and film publishing and distribution business. VN will use the funds to license entertainment rights on an exclusive basis from owners of film and television programmes, making them available through download and on DVD and Blu-ray disc. The company will […]
Research from Sony Pictures Television unit Crackle suggests that streaming to connected TV surpasses all other streaming devices and is now nearly as popular as watching live TV. According to the study, conducted by Crackle in association with Frank N. Magid Associates, control is increasingly in the hands of the viewer as connected TV is […]
The Belgian government has fired Didier Bellens as CEO of Belgacom, in which it has a 53.5 per cent stake. The move followed recent comments about Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and the telco’s dividends, as well as an accumulation of similar incidents. In a statement, the Board of Directors of Belgacom said it had […]
Six people have been arrested in the Spanish provinces of Huelva, Barcelona and Valencia, accused of stealing passwords from a pay-TV cable operator in order to sell pirated STBs. The suspects had access to the cable operator’s servers registering fictitious users. With their passwords they sold pirated STBs that allow other users to watch pay-TV. […]
Investment bank UBS has upgraded its target share price on pay-TV operator Sky Deutschland from €7.50 to €8.50. This is another major vote of approval from UBS, which less than two years ago was rated a ‘Buy’ by UBS and given a target price of $4 a share (and when Sky’s price was just €3.16 […]
Investment fund Altice has agreed to buy additional shares in French cable operator Numericable from private equity funds Cinven and Carlyle Group. This would increase its stake to 40 per cent from 30 per cent. The operation, which will give Altice a majority of votes on Numericable’s board of directors, is expected to be completed […]
The DBS industry posted solid growth over the past five years, supplying a variety of programming to a broadening subscriber base willing to pay a premium for in-home entertainment. New networks, more channels and bonus features have strengthened the industry, even as disposable income dropped during the recession. The introduction of high-definition TV improved the […]
Twenty-four seasons into its run, The Simpsons is finally headed to cable. In a competitive situation with five networks bidding, FXX has landed the exclusive US cable as well as VoD/non-linear rights to the longest-running comedy series in TV history. The deal also is set to make TV history as the priciest off-network pact ever, […]
Iran’s IRIB state broadcaster is in talks with Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar satellite’s owners in an attempt to get Iranian channels back on air internationally. IRIB wants carriage for its Spanish-language version of Press TV (Hispan-TV). Hispan TV, launched in December 2011, has since been dropped by most European and US satellite operators because of United […]
Pace has announced another successful deployment resulting from its global, strategic partnership with TiVo. One of the largest US cable operators, Mediacom Communications Corporation, has chosen to deploy the Pace MG1 Multi-tuner Media Gateway with TiVo’s Advanced User Interface (UI) as its flagship platform. Mediacom will begin the roll out this month of Pace’s MG1 […]